By LaTria Garnigan

Keith Burns 99Ox 01B remembers the first time he set foot on Emory’s Atlanta campus. He was a tenth grader on a field trip to the Michael C. Carlos Museum — enchanted by the art, the people, and, as he laughingly recalls, the presence of both Chick-fil-A and Burger King in Cox Hall.

(Keith Burns 99Ox 01B)

That early glimpse of life at Emory planted a seed that would eventually grow into a transformative four-year experience across two campuses, a lifelong network of friendships, and a deep commitment to a community that helped shape him. 

Burns, a first-generation college student from Atlanta, was admitted to Oxford College sight unseen. He arrived and immediately felt a sense of belonging. “The people were kind. It felt like a place where I could really be a student,” he recalls. 

Oxford’s intimate campus not only gave him space to grow academically, it allowed him to form close-knit relationships that would anchor his future. Many of those bonds — forged in classes, residence halls, and late-night conversations — have lasted more than two decades.

Jen Crabb Kyles 98Ox 00C, assistant vice president of alumni and constituent engagement for Emory University, remembers Burns from their time as students. “He had so much energy. He was funny, curious, and brought a sense of playfulness matched with brilliance,” she says. “Watching him grow into who he is today has been an honor. He’s the epitome of what we hope for in our alumni.”

After two years at Oxford, Burns moved to Emory’s Atlanta campus, where he found new communities, particularly through Goizueta Business School and Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity. He calls his fraternity "life-changing”, connecting him to peers and mentors whose influence would echo long after graduation. 

Among them was the late Judge Horace J. Johnson Jr. 77Ox 79B, a guiding figure in Burns’ life and a model of leadership and service. Burns would later make the lead donation to establish a scholarship endowment in Johnson’s honor — a tribute to a mentor who shaped him and many others.

His Emory friendships also laid the foundation for his future in business. After law school and nearly a decade working in private equity and compliance on Wall Street, Burns co-founded Lullwater & Co. with his longtime friend and fraternity brother Michael Curry 02B. Their partnership has grown into a thriving investment firm built on trust, shared values, and decades of history.

“The best business relationships come from deep trust,” Burns says. “And the people I met at Emory, those are the people I trust.”

Burns’ ties to Oxford and Emory have never loosened. He continues to serve on the Oxford Board of Counselors, the Oxford Alumni Board, and his reunion committees, guided by a belief that one should “pay back what poured into you.” 

Kyles echoes that sentiment, adding that alumni engagement offers a lifelong community. “It’s really a relationship,” she says. “We want alums to stay connected in whatever way is meaningful to them — mentoring, networking, supporting students, or showing up. Those connections matter.”

For Burns, the connection came full circle in the spring of 2025, when he returned to Oxford as the Commencement speaker. Surrounded by friends, family, and former classmates, he watched his five-year-old daughter and nephews look up at him with pride. One nephew leaned over and whispered, “I’m going to do what Uncle Keith does.”

For Burns, that moment captured everything Oxford and Emory have meant to him — the education, the relationships, and the responsibility to lift others up. 

“I’ve been extremely fortunate,” he says. “If I can inspire even one person, then I’m doing what I’m supposed to do.”

Honoring a Beloved Mentor

(Judge Horace J. Johnson Jr. 77Ox 79B)

Burns made the lead donation to establish a scholarship endowment in honor of Johnson, a fraternity brother and cherished Oxford alum. For Burns — and countless other Oxford students — Johnson was a generous mentor whose support left a lasting imprint. 

Johnson, who passed away in 2020, was a 30-year member of the Oxford Board of Counselors and a Superior Court judge in Georgia’s Alcovy Judicial Circuit. He broke new ground in 2016 as the first African American elected president of the Council of Superior Court Judges. 

The endowment will provide need-based scholarships to Oxford students. In 2021, Oxford’s Language Hall was renamed in memory of Johnson and his dedication to the campus community. 

Emory's Advancement & Alumni Engagement team spotlights members of the Emory community who embody the university's mission and honors the supporters whose generosity makes it possible. Know someone we should write about? Tell us.